In-line roller skate

ABSTRACT

An in-line roller skate has a boot for receiving the foot of a user, the boot including a heel portion, a toe portion and a bottom portion. An outsole is disposed along the bottom portion of the boot. A chassis including a pair of elongated, parallel frames is attached to the bottom portion of the skate. A recess is disposed in the outsole of the boot. A plurality of wheels are mounted on the chassis, wherein at least one of the plurality of wheels is partially recessed within the recess of the outsole.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an in-line roller skate having at leastone wheel that is recessed into the outsole of the skate, and moreparticularly, to an in-line roller skate having a reduced center ofgravity.

2. Description of the Related Art

To achieve greater performance from in-line roller skates, skatedesigners and manufacturers continue to search for designs andmanufacturing techniques to improve the handling, maneuverability,support, comfort, speed and durability which a skate can offer.

Maneuverability and speed continue to be two important design factors.The intended use of a particular skate drives the design. For example,maneuverability and speed are a major design factor for art, hockey andrecreational in-line roller skates. Clearly speed would be the majorfactor in a speed skate design. Depending upon the use of the skatenumerous skate designs have been introduced to improve maneuverabilityand speed for users.

The use of different sized wheels, where the smaller wheels arepositioned beneath the heel or toe of the skate and the larger wheelsbeneath the heel, is known to provide greater maneuverability and lowerheight. British Patent No. 1,555,623 discloses a single track rollerskate having front rollers which are of a smaller diameter than the rearrollers allowing the user to execute maneuvers of small and large arcs.

Moreover, it is known to provide a skate having a rear wheel of a largerdiameter ensures improved stability as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,046,746. Large wheels decrease rolling resistance but at the cost ofelevating the foot and increasing foot strain to balance on the higherfoot platform.

However, the skates of the prior art must use different sized wheels toachieve greater stability and/or maneuverability. This increasesproduction costs and complicates wheel replacement.

Thus, there is a need for an in-line roller skate which ensures highmaneuverability and/or stability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide an in-line roller skatehaving a lower center of gravity to improve maneuverability andstability.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an in-lineroller skate having a plurality of wheels and a reduced foot elevationto provide a lower center of gravity and reduce turning movement for theuser.

According to these and other objects of the present invention there isprovided an in-line roller skate comprising a boot for receiving thefoot of a user, the boot including a heel portion, a toe portion and abottom portion. An outsole is disposed along the bottom portion of theboot. A chassis including a pair of elongated, parallel frames isattached to the bottom portion of the skate. A recess is disposed in theoutsole of the boot. A plurality of wheels are mounted on the chassis,wherein at least one of the plurality of wheels is partially recessedwithin the recess of the outsole.

These and other objects, features, aspects, and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiment relative to the accompanieddrawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an in-line roller skate according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the outsole of the in-line roller skate ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the in-line roller skate of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged bottom view of the front portion of the in-lineroller skate of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the chassis of one embodiment of the in-lineroller skate of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the chassis of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a top view of a chassis according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of an outsole of another embodiment of anin-line roller skate according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of an outsole of a third embodiment of anin-line roller skate according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view of an in-line roller skate according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, an in-line roller skate 10 according to the presentinvention includes a boot 12 for receiving the foot of a user. Boot 12includes a heel portion 9 and a toe portion 11. A bottom portion 13 ofthe boot has an outer peripheral shape corresponding to the shape of theuser's foot. Toe portion 11 and heel portion 9 are spaced longitudinallyalong bottom portion 13 by an appropriate distance to accommodate aparticular user's foot.

The boot further includes an upper portion to form a cavity forreceiving the user's foot. Laces further secure the user's foot withinthe boot. Although laces are illustrated it should be appreciated thatother securing means, for example, buckles, straps, etc., could be usedto secure the user's foot within the boot.

Adhered to bottom portion 13 of boot 12 is an outsole 20. As shown inFIG. 2, outsole 20 includes a heel section 22 and a toe section 24.Outsole 20 can be made of a carbon-glass weave or other suitablematerial. Outsole 20 can be attached to boot 12 via conventional meanssuch as screws, rivets or adhesive. Outsole 20 further includes a heelcup 23, as shown in FIG. 1, to cradle the heel portion 9 of the boot.

Referring again to FIG. 2, outsole 20 includes an elongated recess 30disposed at the toe section. Recess 30 extends along the longitudinalaxis of the outsole and is approximately 3 to 5 mm deep. As will bediscussed further herein, a portion of at least the first or secondwheel of the skate extends upwardly into recess 30 reducing the centerof gravity of the skate, reducing ankle-turning torque and allowing theskater more pushing power while simultaneously reducing fatigue.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an upper portion 17 of the wheel extends intorecess 30 by an amount (d). Depth (d) can be less than or equal to 5 mm.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4, the first wheel 16 a and the secondwheel 16 b both extend into recess 30. Thus, recess 30 should have alength long enough to accommodate both wheels. The length of recess 30depends upon the actual size of the boot. Ultimately, however, thelength of the recess should not be more than half the length of theboot. Moreover, the recess should have a width ample enough toaccommodate the particular sized wheel so that the wheel can freelyrotate within the recess.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the in-line roller skate according to oneembodiment includes four wheels 16 a, 16 b, 16 c and 16 d rotatablymounted on a chassis 14 in a manner known in the art. The wheels aredisposed in an in-line arrangement with wheel 16 a being the first wheeldisposed at the toe portion of the skate and wheel 16 d being the fourthor last wheel disposed beneath the skate's heel. As will be discussedfurther herein, in one embodiment all four wheels 16 a-d have the samesize diameter. The wheel size ultimately depends upon the user. Forexample, an adult sized skate would use larger diameter wheels than ajuvenile sized skate. For an adult sized skates each of the wheels couldbe 80 mm or more in diameter. It should be appreciated that other sizedwheels could be used, and the present invention should not be limited toa particular sized wheel. For example, a large rear wheel and threeequal sized smaller wheels could be used, wherein at least one of thefirst or second wheels are recessed.

As shown in FIG. 3, chassis 14 includes a pair of parallel frames 14 aand 14 b. Each frame includes a front bracket 15 a, 15 b and a rearbracket 17 a, 17 b. Chassis 14 is a one piece system having a pluralityof recesses for reduced weight. Appropriate materials for the framecould be Al; Ti; Mg; injected molded plastic, such as nylon; or aglass/carbon/polyaramid composite.

Referring to FIG. 5, bracket 15 disposed at the toe portion of the skateis disposed below bracket 17. However, due to the provision of recess30, the wheels can be mounted on the chassis with the axles of thewheels being equi-distanced from the skating surface, see FIG. 1. Frames14 a and 14 b are mounted to outsole 20 via a plurality of fasteners asis known in the art. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, frames 14 a and 14 bare mounted so as to extend along each side of the recess 30.

Referring to FIG. 6, the chassis of the first embodiment of the presentinvention includes frames 14 a and 14 b. Frames 14 a and 14 b includesportions 15 a and 15 b at a first respective end. Frames 14 a and 14 bare completely open at the front of the frame and separated by adistance large enough to accommodate recess 30. At the second end offrames 14 a and 14 b is bracket 17.

A second embodiment of a chassis is shown in FIG. 7 and includes frames14 a′ and 14 b′. Front bracket 15′ is closed at one end of the frames.Bracket 15′ includes an aperture 19 which is positioned to correspond torecess 30 in the outsole. Cut-outs 21 can also be provided in bracket15′ to accommodate additional recessed wheels.

Referring to FIG. 8, according to another embodiment of the presentinvention, a recess 30′ is arranged and sized to accommodate only thefirst wheel of the skate.

FIG. 9 illustrates an outsole according to still another embodiment ofthe present invention. In this particular embodiment, recess 30″ ispositioned and sized to accommodate only the second wheel. Accordingly,the first, third and fourth wheels are not recessed within the recess.

FIG. 10 illustrates an in-line roller skate having five wheels, a designsuited for speed skating. As shown, the second and third wheels, 16 band 16 c, respectively, can be recessed within the recess as in theembodiment of FIG. 1.

Although the present invention has been described in relation toparticular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modificationsand other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It ispreferred therefore, that the present invention be limited not by thespecific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.

1. An in-line roller skate comprising: a boot for receiving the foot ofa user, the boot including a heel portion, a toe portion and a bottomportion; an outsole disposed along the bottom portion of the boot; achassis including a pair of elongated, parallel frames attached to thebottom portion of the skate, said frames having opposed front and rearends and wherein said frames are free of any connecting structure atsaid front ends; a recess disposed in the outsole of the boot; and aplurality of wheels mounted on said chassis, at least one of saidplurality of wheels being partially recessed within said recess of saidoutsole.
 2. The in-line roller skate of claim 1, wherein said recess islocated in the outsole at the toe portion of the boot.
 3. The in-lineroller skate of claim 2, further comprising a first wheel mounted on thechassis at the toe portion of the boot.
 4. The in-line roller skate ofclaim 3, wherein said first wheel is partially disposed within saidrecess.
 5. The in-line roller skate of claim 3, further comprising asecond wheel mounted on the chassis behind the first wheel.
 6. Thein-line roller skate of claim 5, wherein both said first and secondwheels partially extend into said recess.
 7. The in-line roller skate ofclaim 5, wherein said second wheel is partially disposed within saidrecess.
 8. The in-line roller skate of claim 1, wherein said pluralityof wheels have the same size diameter.